5 minutes with Founder Patrick Kelly
What are the best and worst aspects of running your own company?
There are many aspects to choose from for both sides of this question so instead of boring you with as many of them as possible, I have chosen one which, for me at least, applies to both.
Being the captain of the ship; the freedom & pressures this brings – when you’re at the helm and it’s up to you where you sail.
For me, being in control of the direction we go as a company is many times more enjoyable than “just another cog in a machine”. Sure, this brings a whole heap of responsibilities with it and as our “ship” grows, those responsibilities and associated pressures only increase, but I would take the freedom this offers over the opposite any day.
Conversely, when you’re the captain – the buck stops with you! When things are going well you share the credit but when they’re not, you have to do what you can to protect & care for your team. If something doesn’t go to plan, it’s your responsibility to put it right; whether directly (yourself) or indirectly (through your team) – the responsibility over what has occurred lies with you.
Where do you see Adapt in 5 years time?
Adapt has been involved in a wide variety of projects in the 5 years since we started. Through that variety we have slowly regained clarity over where we add most value and should be heading as a company.
In the next 5 years I would love to see Adapt achieve many things, some of which include:
Creating truly innovative solutions to problems through our own suite of digital SAAS products
Become recognised as leaders in our industry through awards for our work, culture & customer service
Growing a distributed team throughout the world (if necessary) across multiple time zones
Become a carbon neutral or at the very least a carbon offset company
Possibly explore becoming a certified B Corporation and through doing so, become recognised as a company for good
What one story about your childhood best explains the person you are today?
This is almost impossible to answer as I feel no one story can solely contribute to the person anyone is today. Instead I believe we become the result of a chain of events we later look back on to call our “life”. Therefore, instead, I can only offer a short story surrounding one such event which I can recall:
“He’ll be just fine…” were the words of my neighbour from a conversation I recall him having with my parents when I was a young child. I was close with my neighbour. He fed my fascinated mind with interesting facts & skills as I was growing up.
One day, I recall overhearing a discussion between my neighbour and my parents where I believe they were asking how I might get on in life. His response? (I’m paraphrasing, of course) “Oh you have nothing to worry about with Patrick, he’s a clever lad – he’ll be just fine…”. I’m not sure whether this has “impacted” me per se, but it does seem to match up with my approach to life today – have a go & learn on the way, what’s the worst that can happen?
Who is your inspiration?
I’m going to approach this from two angles; Celebrity & Personally. On the celebrity side I have two icons of the technology world; Elon Musk & Steve Jobs and one, slightly lesser known individual, who has done incredible things for someone of his age; Steven Bartlett. The first two, I’d hope need no explaining, and Steven Bartlett is so inspiring as he is around the same age as me.
Then personally I grew up being inspired by my parent’s work ethic. Neither of them had particularly glamorous or well paying jobs, with my dad being a painter & decorator and my mum a private cleaner, but that made their hard graft all the more inspiring. Extending this slightly to my broader family my brother & cousins also continue this hard graft attitude with none of them put off by “the grind”. And finally a little closer to home, my fiance, who inspires and supports me on a daily basis – to all of you; thank you.
What three items would you take with you to a deserted island?
This is a great question and one I’ve struggled to answer, however I think I’ve got a pretty good mix of items.
First off, a machete – with this I would be able to create firewood, potentially hunt for food and build some sort of shelter. A pretty multipurpose tool!
Secondly, and this one may seem a little more farfetched, a life’s supply of drinking water. I read somewhere that we can survive weeks without food but can only survive a matter of days without water!
Lastly, this might surprise some, I would want to have some form of photo album containing images of my closest friends & family with me. With the hope that this would help to keep me sane & motivated to find a way off the island! Also it’ll hopefully prevent any “WILSON!” occurrences for those who have seen Castaway.
Tell me something about yourself that not many people know?
For a very brief momentary flicker of time there was an opportunity for me to explore playing golf professionally – then life brought me back to the ground with a bump and so I fell back on my other passion; technology!
